Fantasy Football Start’Em or Sit’Em Playoffs Edition

Welcome to the 2^nd round of the playoffs where we review who to start or sit based on ESPN rankings.  If you are still reading this that means congrats are in order and you are in the playoffs.  We had a bad week in the Start ‘Em going 4-6 and pretty good in Sit ‘Em going 8-2.  I am going to expand this week with the importance of it being a playoff week.  Please feel free to direct any questions to me either below or on Twitter.   Let’s get to this week’s list;

Start ‘Em

• Ben Roethlisberger- There is no way he can be on any bench the way he is playing and the Falcons coming up.
• Jay Cutler- It’s tough to trust him but the Saints are just so awful.
• Tony Romo- He has been nothing but solid plus the Eagles are shaky against the pass.
• Eli Manning- Start everyone against the Washington pass defense.
• Joique Bell- He has become a top 5 RB the past 2 weeks, start him in all formats.
• Isaih Crowell – He is in a job share but with Johnny Football coming in, I can see it opening up the run game.
• Latavius Murray- He got 23 carries and the Chiefs have given up 100 yards to a RB the past 6 weeks.
• Fred Jackson- The Packers made Steven Jackson look good last week, I can see 20 touches while trying to use the clock.
• Mike Evans- He is as hot as any WR and has a nice connection with McCown.
• DeAndre Hopkins- With Johnson out he is the clear WR1 and should easily get double digit targets.
• Keenan Allen- He has been solid in PPR and the Broncos are shaky against the pass.
• Marques Colston- This is a long shot but is more of a match up play and expecting some sort of bounce back from Brees.
• Pierre Garcon- With Jackson probably out again he should get at least 10 targets.
• Delanie Walker- The Jets are amongst the worst versus the tight end, plus he has a connection with Locker.
• Jared Cook- He bounced back last week and the Rams will have to pass to stay ahead this week.

Bench ‘Em

• Russell Wilson- He has been a top 6 QB this year but I have a feeling this is low scoring and the 49ers make one last stand.
• Mark Sanchez- I do not love the Cowboys defense but he has been way below average and Foles could be an option if he struggles.
• Joe Flacco- The Jaguars have an improving defense and I see the Ravens grinding one out.
• Ryan Tannehill- He has had 2 bad weeks and now goes to New England, no thanks.
• Eddie Lacy- He has 2 things going against him, one is the Bills defense at home, the other is he is in a pure job share and was banged up at the end of last game.
• Mark Ingram- The Bears defense is awful but I do not trust his usage numbers.
• Daniel Herron- He has a tough matchup and the Texans are awful versus the pass, I can see him getting 10 or less touches.
• Jonathan Stewart- He was awesome last week but with Newton out, I can see them struggling.
• Tre Mason- He only averaged 3 YPC and gets a top run defense in the Cardinals,  I would not expect much this week and more Cunningham.
• Andre Williams- It look like Jennings will be back to a full load this week.
• Denard Robinson- It looks like he is a game time decision plus playing the Ravens, I would stay away.
• Emmanuel Sanders- The Broncos are now pretty run heavy, I look at him as a WR3 this week.
• Randall Cobb- The touchdowns has regressed to the mean,  he is still solid but a clear WR2 at best.
• Roddy White- He had a nice game and has a nice match up but did not look close to 100% last week.
• Julian Edelman- He will be shut down with Grimes covering him most of the game.
• Golden Tate- His targets are back to average with Megatron back, boom or bust kind of start.
• Andre Johnson- He had a concussion so plan on him not playing.
• Heath Miller- The Falcons actually do one thing well and that’s defend the tight end.

Here are a few fantasy streaming defenses that may be available-  Lions, Giants, and Browns. I wish everyone luck this week and let me know if you have any questions.

Fantasy Mike

Mike Dietrich

Mike Dietrich is the fantasy football columnist for JetNation.

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